Scary Little Girls
Scary Little Girls is an English production hub based in London and Cornwall and a charity registered in England and Wales under charity number 1136270. Most of their work revolves around literary and matrifocal themes, as well as a number of comedy and cabaret works with predominantly female casts. Rather than working primarily a set genre or using a regular group of practitioners, the company looks to seek out artists of all ages, backgrounds and interests from multiple artistic fields. A key tenet of SLG projects is that must headline, promote or employ more women than men.
SLG say that their three main objectives are:
1. To tell stories and promote characters which are little known, historically or culturally excluded, or usually told from one perspective only.
2. To actively promote the artistic work of women in all aspects of theatrical storytelling.
3. To share and disseminate the skills of artists for the benefit of both the artistic and the wider community.
History
Scary Little Girls was founded in 2002 by Rebecca Mordan and became an official charity in 2005 when Sharon Andrew joined as co-artistic director. Andrew left SLG in January 2017 to become a meditation teacher and founded the Cornish Meditation Centre, though she remains a creative consultant for SLG.Between 2002 and 2005, Scary Little Girls did various school workshops, a production of Dracula with a female Dracula and a production of Maria Stuart.
During this time, Scary Little Girls also produced Mother Mae I! Part of the resurgence of cabaret in London in the early 21st century, this piece features acts such as puppetry, musical comedy, stand up, grotesques and magic. The event is either hosted by Riot Showgrrls, Bunny Morethan or the de Plumes, and in keeping with SLG's ethos, most of the performers are women. The show later had residences at The Oak Bar in Newington Green and at the Camden Head in Angel.
Theatrical productions
General
Scary Little Girls has mainly been active in England. Previous shows include:The Ladies' Cage, which focuses on Anna Parnell and the women of the Ladies Land League. It is set in the 1890s in the English and Irish land wars of the era. The production uses research material by Professor Margaret Ward, and her previously unpublished research on Anna Parnell.
In 2007, the company was funded by the Duke of Cornwall Benevolent Fund to produce a series of "Positive Behavior" sessions at Ludgvan Community Primary School
Suffragettes: 100 Years was a joint project with Naomi Paxton. There were readings of plays by members of the Actresses' Franchise League, followed by talks by academics and actors. The event launched a book of plays, many of which had previously been unpublished.
Larger productions
Dracula: The Kisses
Dracula: The Kisses, with its all-female cast and new text, explores gender and queer themes in a gothic steampunk setting. The play was written by Rebecca Mordan and directed by Helen Tennison. The show's first run was 22–26 September 2014 at the Minack Theatre in Cornwall. The show then went up to Birmingham to perform at the mac Birmingham and performed there 30–31 October 2014.Duffy Beats the Devil
In December 2015, Scary Little Girls put on their first pantomime in co-production with The Acorn Theater Penzance. Duffy Beats the Devil was an all-women pantomime that adapted a local folk story to Penzance.Peter Pan
In 2016, Scary Little Girls put on an all-female production of JM Barrie's original 1904 script for Peter Pan.Later that year, Scary Little Girls worked with Ramps on the Moon, a deaf and disabled artist integration project, to workshop their all-female interpretation of Peter Pan. The workshop paired three SLG actors and three ROTM actors with Cornish designers and artists to form a creative team. These creative teams were tasked with turning Peter Pan into an indoor show for mid-scale touring and a diverse cast.
Before I Wake
Before I Wake was an original script that highlighted the real-life workers of the Heligan Gardens, many of whom later died in WWII.Literary shows
Living Literature Walks
Living Literature Walks are theatrical walks that take a small group through a town to explore its history.Living Literature Walks themes have included actresses and suffragettes, the Mitford Sisters, Cornish All Hallows, Cornish Christmas, Women of World War I, Frankenstein, railways, banned texts, Mary Wollstonecraft, Agatha Christie, Suffrage heritage.
In response to the COVID lockdowns of 2020, Scary Little Girls started Salon de la Vie, online interactive fortnightly cabarets that celebrated women's art and literature.
Stories in the Shelves
In 2016, Scary Little Girls began touring Cornish libraries with their four most popular small scale shows. This tour expanded on a 2015/16 pilot of eight Cornish libraries to a tour of 19 regional libraries.Literary Cabarets
Many of Scary Little Girls' shows have literary themes, including their Literary Cabarets and Living Literature Walks. Their literary cabarets include: The Best of Times: a Charles Dickens Literary Cabaret — a 3-woman cabaret based on the life of Charles Dickens that focuses on his personal life; Wilde Nights a show inspired by Oscar Wilde that was commissioned by Brighton Fringe; and The Full Brontë a homage to the Brontë sisters.Edinburgh Fringe Festival
In 2008, Scary Little Girls brought The Riot Showgrrls Club to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The show was a pro-sex, anti-porn cabaret performed at The Gilded Balloon. It was written and performed by Rebecca Mordan and Kate Kerrow. In 2009, they then took the show to the Glastonbury Festival.In 2013, the company went to the Fringe for The Full Bronte, a literary cabaret based on the lives of the Brontë sisters. The show was originally developed with The Theatre Chipping Norton before enjoying a sell-out run in Edinburgh and national tours.
In 2015, the company performed Salon du Chocolat at the Voodoo Rooms from 8–18 August. The salon included excerpts from banned books such as Lady Chatterley's Lover and The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall. It also included music by The Dresden Dolls and Annie Lennox.